Artemis' First Daughter
by breezy59105
Summary: ok-i am horrible at summaries, so here goes! Natalie Peirce used to be a normal New Yorker. Now she is responsible to save the one thing that is holding Western Civilization!
1. Chapter 1

I almost get killed by the receptionist

I used to be normal. I used to be an average New Yorker with ADHD and dyslexia. I used to be happy. And now, I am on the verge of death.

Let me explain. Two months ago, I was sitting next to my dad eating oatmeal. It was my first day going to a new boarding school. It was called Queen Anne's Prepatory School. It was an all girls school (no complaints there), but we had to wear plaid skirts and a white business shirt. Ugh. My dad said that Queen Anne's was a great school that almost all the girls that attended there got into an Ivy League college. I pointed out the word "almost".

I would rather stay with him and just go to a normal public school, but whenever I told him this he said, "I wish you could." So, he drove me to the Upper East Side, where the school was located. I climbed out of the car and said good-bye to my father. I just wished I'd put a little more into the hug. When I walked in the door I thought I might be able to make this work.

Two girls who looked like they'd been there they're whole lives came over to me, and asked me my name. I told them it was Natalie Peirce and they looked it up on a clipboard. They escorted me to the front desk and I recited my name once again. The lady at the desk looked at me as if I had purple skin. Which I don't. The two girls, who I figured were about 15 years old, took me to the elevator and pressed the number 6. And we were off. They told me my room was on the top floor, #606, right next to the bathroom.

Wonderful. They gave me my room key and I felt like I just checked into the Waldorf Astoria. I opened the door and tried not to gasp. It was every girl's dream. The room had three closets, two of them, already full with Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle clothes. My favorite stores. I fell on the bed and almost screamed. It was a water bed! I always wanted one of these. Sometimes I would make my dad take me to furniture stores so I could try out all the water beds they had in stock. I opened the drawers and I _did_ scream.

There was jewelry, a tooth brush, toothpaste, a brush (the circular ones that I like), and my perfect shades of make-up. Now, maybe I should have wondered how they knew all the stuff I loved, but I was in heaven. No boys. Now I had seen everything. Then the lady at the front desk knocked and my escorts, Nellie and Grace, opened the door and had a rushed conversation.

And that was the first and last time I would be in that perfect place. Because then Nellie and Grace disappeared, literally vanished into thin air. That's when I knew something wrong. The lady began to transform. Her skin turned gray and hard, until it was as thick as hide. Then she began to grow, bigger than my new water bed. When she stopped being gross, she the size of a short school bus, and was identical to a rhino except her head was still human. Creepy, right?

Well, then she charged and I just about passed out I moved to the side, nearer to the door and realized what her rhino-body's problem was. She couldn't turn fast enough to catch me. After all, I was the state champion cross-country runner. At the exact moment, she got turned around, the door opened and a petite girl wearing a tight pair of jeans and a green shirt with a picture of the earth on it that said "KEEP IT CLEAN, KEEP IT GREEN" rushed in grabbed my arm and we ran out of the school.

We crossed the road and the rhino/woman was far behind us. The girl handed me a piece of wood from the ground, told me to protect myself, and ran west, leaving me alone with a stick and absolutely no hope. The creature bounded toward me and I waited until she was close enough for me to hit her in the face with my stick and I did. Right in her eye, with the sharp end. Blood went every where and she screamed. I looked at the stick and I noticed that there was a small amount of some glowing metal on the end of it. Bronze, that was it. When I looked back up, the rhino thing was turned to dust and the environmentalist girl was back, staring at me. And then, I felt a searing pain in my arm, like some had ripped open my skin and was pouring in salt.

I wanted to look, but if there was blood I would faint then and there. But I looked instead. There was blood, but there was also something else, something else that was colored green and yellow. After that, all I remember was crumpling to the ground and being lifted on to the small girl's back.

I woke up in a comfortable bed, sipping something that tasted like liquid oatmeal, the way my dad used to make it. My arm was bandaged where I was cut, and it felt like I'd been sleeping on it for three years straight, but it felt good, like a happy pain. I tried to sit up to get a better understanding of my surroundings, but I felt light-headed immediately.

A voice came from the corner, "Don't strain yourself. Here have some of this." It was the girl from Queen Anne's School. She handed me something that looked like Swiss cheese, but it tasted like the pizza my dad and I had made a few years ago, with everything we had in our fridge on top. It tasted like heaven's food. I looked up at her and asked, "Where are we?"

"It's too hard for me to explain. Let me get Chiron." And she left without another word. In no time at all, she was back, along with a man in a wheelchair. I felt sorry for him. I'd always had a soft spot for handicapped people; it made me feel bad that their lives were so limited. He started to talk.

"Natalie, I am Chiron. How is your arm?"

"It's…It's fine. Who are you again?"

"Chiron. I believe you asked Cedar here where you are? Well, that I can answer easily. You are in the Big House at Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?"

"Yes, a summer camp for people like you."

"What do you mean, people like me? People with learning disorders?"

"Somewhat. Are you familiar with the Greek gods?"

"The Greek gods? Sure, Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo."

"Yes, but I implore you not to use those names here. Well, they are very much alive. Here, in America."

"What? No, they're just myths to explain why there is thunder and stuff like that."

"Then explain what happened at Queen Anne's School."

'"I was kinda hoping you could do that for me." The door opened and a plump man walked in. He had obviously been drinking. Anyone could tell that. Maybe that was just what he looked like, or maybe he was trying to quit alcoholism.

"Oh, another one? Well, hello. Don't expect me to be happy to see you." He told me. Now, if there is one thing that I can't stand, it's when someone is rude to me.

"Excuse me? Sorry, but I'm used to a happy greeting when I meet someone new." Maybe it was a little harsh, but I was really annoyed with this guy right now. He stared at me like he couldn't believe I had the nerve to say anything in his presence.

"I'm sorry, but I feel that you probably shouldn't talk back to me." I caught sight of his stupid Johnny Bahama shirt and just about blew up. I didn't want to have anything to do with rude people. But before I could voice my great retort (which contained plenty of swear words, mind you), Chiron spoke up.

"Natalie, I suggest you quiet down. This is Dionysus, the god of wine." This confirmed most of my suspicions. I looked at him and in his eyes I saw all of his powers in action.

"I'm sorry, sir." And then he left.

"He was sent here by his father as punishment for chasing an off-limits wood nymph. He is rather…upset with the people who keep him here. The campers, mostly." The door opened and the girl who had saved me from the rhino-lady walked in, which reminded me of something.

"What was that thing that attacked me at Queen Anne's School?"

"Ah, I knew you would ask that question. She was a Montretal, one of the most terrible monsters from the darkest part of the Underworld, Tartarus. The fact that she appeared to you is not a good sign. But we will speak more of this later. Cedar, please give Natalie the tour of camp. Oh, and Natalie, don't ride any pegasi until we are sure of your parentage, please?" Cedar's eyes opened wide and ran over Chiron and whispered something in his ear. He responded with, "Better to be safe than sorry." And Cedar rushed back over to me, took my hand, and led me out of the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Something Floats Over My Head

Cedar showed me the archery range (which I looked forward to a_ lot_), the pegasi stables (which looked really fun, but Chiron had forbidden me from it), the canoe lake, the climbing wall (which horrified me enough without the lava), the mess hall (I figured out why they called it a _mess_ hall), the outside of the forest (she warned me not to go in unless I was "heavily armed". Eek!), and finally the cabins. They were pretty cool; constructed in a U-shape, two at the top and five on each side. They were just about the weirdest collection of buildings I've ever seen. One was covered in flowers and a bunch of other nature-y stuff, one was painted red, but it was a very bad paint job, as if someone had taken a paintball gun to the walls. Others seemed calmer, like the third one. It was decorated with seashells, but, my favorite had to be #8. It was subtlety decorated, but it looked like it was washed in liquid moonlight. Cedar walked me to #11, which wasn't decorated; it just looked like a very _old_ cabin.

She opened the door and I almost lost it. There was mostly boys (extremely awkward), but what struck me most was that it was so full. There was barely any room to move around in. There were sleeping bags all over the floor of the cabin. I wondered why people didn't just go over to the cabins that were completely empty. It would be a better representation of space management. I asked Cedar and she looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears.

"You can't just choose a cabin and move in. It depends on who your parent is."

"My dad is unemployed. We live at 1621 North 57th St. What cabin do I get for that?"

"Not him. Your immortal parent. Your mom is one of the Greek gods." I let that sink in. My dad always said that my mom had to leave after she had me. She was an astronaut, he said. She went on a mission to the moon, and their shuttle exploded on the way back to Earth. It seemed like a pretty horrible way to die. But before I could say anything else, a teenage boy came up to me and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Zack. The counselor of this cabin. Every newcomer who comes here stays in this cabin. Our patron, Hermes, the god of travelers, accepts all of 'em. Cedar, regular or undetermined?"

"Undetermined." A lot of people groaned. "Come on, Natalie. We have to finish the tour." We left, but apparently I wasn't done meeting people. A girl who was about my size times three walked up to us.

"Hey. I'm Danielle, daughter of Ares, god of war. Come with me. We gotta little ceremony for newbies at this camp." Cedar tried to say something, but her mouth wasn't working. Clarisse dragged me to the girl's bathroom which I can't say was all that hygienic. I was getting pretty annoyed. This girl radiated rudeness. She took me into a stall and forced my head toward the water in the toilet. And then I lost my cool completely. Now, I wasn't all that strong, but I was small and I was quick, plus I had a really loud voice. So, I screamed and Danielle let go of my head to cover her ears. I slipped through her legs used someone's leg to hoist myself up, and ran out of the bathroom.

"Natalie, are you okay?" Cedar asked me when I appeared next to her.

"Yeah, she tried to get my head in the toilet. I didn't like that, so I got out of there." Then, Danielle stormed out of the restroom.

"You win this time, brat. But I'll get you. One day. Watch your back." Cedar had to hold me back from racing after her as she walked into cabin #5.

"Here, go back to Hermes' cabin and wait 'til dinner. After supper, is capture the flag. You can take your anger out on her then. K?"

"OK. See ya later." And I walked slowly over to the cabin.

At dinner, we lined up in order of seniority, so I was last. I didn't see that as rudeness. It's the rules, after all. I sat at the Hermes table, almost sliding off the end. There was a few of empty table that I wished belonged to me. After dinner, Zack came up to me and said to follow him to the woods. So, I did, however reluctantly. Chiron spoke and then we suited up in shiny armor and chose weapons. I chose to stick with the wooden twig Cedar gave me earlier. The kids in the armory had fashioned it so I could hold on to one end and had sharpened and coated the rest with celestial bronze. It was awesome.

The Ares campers charged in with their ugly flag, painted red and with a boar's head in the middle. The Athena campers ran in holding their silver banner decorated with an olive tree and an owl floating above it. Zack said we were on Athena's team this time. Apparently, chores and shower times had been negotiated in order to get reinforcements. Zack told me to stand at the creek and do guard duty (yell if any of the red players get near the border line.) Chiron blew a conch horn and most every one on our side ran over the creek. I heard fighting and yelling. And then four Ares kids ran over to me. I was about to yell when they stopped and looked at me. One of the smaller ones slashed me with her sword. It wasn't a deep cut, but that didn't stop it from hurting.

"Natalie, I bet you wished you had something special about you. Too bad Chiron will probably have to make you all better after this game. Even the Apollo kids couldn't heal what's comin' to ya." Now, if you didn't see it, _that_ was rude, and I blew up. I punched the one who slapped me and then slipped between the others I got on the other side of them and hit one on the head with my twig. Staff, there that's a better name for it. The other ran for it, in the wrong direction even. Then Danielle came after me and I knew I was a goner. I'd wasted my energy on the other three, and was left standing in the creek, exhausted.

The moon rose into the sky and a cool nighttime breeze swept over me. My energy level rose quickly and I pulled some kind of karate/boxing thing and came up on her left side. I hit her in the side with my free hand and when she slashed at me, I wasn't there. I had dropped to the ground and hit her Achilles tendon. She fell like a marionette whose strings had been cut. The guys standing guard at the flags base had just noticed what was going on and started clapping. But then the volume of it increased drastically as more voices joined in. An Apollo camper was running with the Ares banner in his hand. He jumped the creek into friendly territory and the banner changed to an orange color with a giant sun in the middle of it. Everybody lifted him up on their shoulders, including me. Somewhere in the back of the crowd, someone tripped, knocking others down like dominoes in succession.

I was the only one able to stay standing, but I was still holding up the winner of the game. I put him down and suddenly everyone was looking at me. No, not me, my arms. They were glowing just like cabin 8 (one of the empty ones). And then everybody watching me gasped in unison. Every one who wasn't watching turned to see what was going on and gasped as well. Something seemed to be wrong with the air above my head, and I couldn't help but look.

Over my head was a spotlight of blue light that seemed to come from no where. But that wasn't the weirdest part. Contained inside the light was a gray orb. But if you looked close enough there were small holes, craters, in its surface. It was a tiny model of the moon. Chiron pushed his way to the front of the group and I was surprised, no, astounded to see that his bottom half was not in a wheelchair. It was the body of a proud palomino horse. He was a centaur, I'd read about them in books. They were supposedly very peaceful creatures, but he looked downright murderous as the moon over my head dissipated into nothing.

"Um…" he stuttered, "It is determined. Your mother has claimed you."

"My mother?" I asked, completely bewildered.

"A-Artemis, Moon Manipulator, Mother of the Hunt, Archery Expert. Hail, Natalie Peirce, Daughter of the Maiden Goddess."


	3. Chapter 3

I get talked about behind my back

After that, I asked some of the Athena campers if I could borrow some books about Artemis and they ran into their cabin, threw out some books, and slammed the door shut. I picked up the books and headed to my cabin with them. Cedar had showed me how to choose my own schedule. The kids in the Demeter cabin had built a new table in the mess hall straight from the ground voluntarily. They said their mom had always been close to Artemis.

I took archery alone, with Chiron teaching me. I was really good, but I suppose that's because my mom is the goddess of archery. Nobody seemed to want anything to do with me, even Cedar, so Chiron taught me most of my skills, except basket-weaving and canoeing. Apparently, Artemis had done a huge favor for the naiads and they decided they'd better repay her. Ares' kids hated my guts even more, if that was possible. The only person who really liked me at all was Zack. He helped me to read Greek and explained most of my questions.

"Why does everybody here have ADHD and dyslexia like me?" I asked, one day after we'd finished an entire book of Homer.

"The attention deficit disorder is your battlefield reflexes. In a fight, they would keep you alive. You can see every good thing about a fighting strategy and every bad thing about and enemy's proportions. Dyslexia is because your brain is made to read Ancient Greek, not English." Thunder overhead boomed and interrupted his next words.

"Shouldn't we go inside? I mean, the books would get ruined from the rain."Heh, heh. The camp has magical borders that keep out monsters, mortals, and storms. Nothing gets in unless we want it to."

"Then, what's up with the storms? I mean, if Zeus is the god of the sky then couldn't he just, like, calm it down?"

"I think he's causing the storms."

"Why?"

"He's probably mad at your mom."

"What? Why would he be mad at her?"

"She swore never to marry, love, or have kids. You kinda broke that promise. But, come on. We'll go down to the lake and try out some of your powers." We walked down and the moon had just risen into the sky, so my powers would be able to figure out easier. We figured out that I can heal things, maybe because my uncle is the god of healing. That could be why the Apollo kids were being kind of nice to me. Also, I'm pretty much invincible when the moon is out. Zack is a really good swordfighter, but I beat him down within the space of about two seconds. I doubt that would've happened in the daytime, though.

The sun came up a while later, while I was waiting for Zack to get some energy back, and I stayed out in the forest because I really didn't want to go back out and face every one's whispers about me. So, I waited for a while, skipping rocks in the creek. A young woman walked out of the forest on the other side. I figured she was a dryad, but she wasn't as small-boned as they are. I pulled out my staff because the next likely thing she could be was a monster disguised as a girl. She just smiled at the sight of it, like a long-lost friend. And then she spoke, her voice sounded like a cool night breeze sweeping over the earth.

"Please, put that away. It wouldn't work on me anyway. I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, and your mother." When she said the last two words she smiled. I lowered my staff and said, "Mother?"

"Yes." She walked through the creek and looked me over. She took a lock of my long black hair and said, "Just like I thought. Dark skin, dark hair, never liked a boy in her life. Sort of like me." She blinked and I think I saw a tear form in her blue eyes. "I wanted to give you a gift. But, you already have one of them. That staff, used to belong to me, but if it came to you, then it is yours. Also, if you whisper my name to it, it will transform into a bow that will never fail you. The other gift you will receive is this." And she pulled out a diamond bracelet. "There are twelve diamonds that represent the twelve Olympians. When you will it so, it will, also, transform into an impenetrable shield." I took it from her and admired it. I put it on and thought this, _Um…Turn into a shield?_ And it did. The bracelet melted until it was the shape of a coat of arms, and then pictures began to engrave themselves on the front of it: drawings of gods and goddesses in their greatest moments. Then, I remembered what she said first: that my staff could become a bow. I whispered to it, _"Artemis"_, and in a flash of white light, it was a bow and a quiver full of silver arrows. I aimed for a pine cone swinging in the wind and released. After the whistling of the arrow, the pinecone burst, and fell to the ground. That pine cone was at least a hundred yards away. "Wow." I said.

"Yes, pretty cool, isn't it?" I'd almost forgotten about the goddess standing next to me, "Do you want to try those weapons out in front of your fellow campers? I believe that the other campers might be a little more willing to take classes with you. That should be a good time to show off to your friends in cabin 5." Her eyes sparkled as she said good-bye. "I'm sure I'll see you soon." She walked up to me and hugged me. I was getting hugged by the all-powerful, immortal goddess Artemis. Whoa. She let me go and said this, "I love you." And then she walked over to the forest's edge and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! I am running out of ideas for the story. Please reveiw! :)**

There is a huge disaster that I am blamed for

The next day, something happened to the campers. The Athena kids rushed out of their cabin and gave me a group hug. Everyone seemed to think of me as a movie star. At breakfast, I scraped some crepes into the fire and thanked my mom for the gifts and for the magic she must have worked to make everyone like me. I saw Zack at lunch, and wondered, since he was still my friend before Artemis worked her magic, what would he think of me now? The Ares campers even asked me for a challenge in the arena sort of nicely. I guess there is only so much a mom can do.

I noticed something about my new weapon. With melee and ranged combat, I'd be pretty hard to beat. I walked into the sword arena and saw the Ares campers talking in the middle of the arena. I looked around and saw some people in the stands. There were some Athena campers, a few Apollo kids, and Zack. An Athena girl was talking to him animatedly. when he saw me come in he said something quickly to the girl and he walked down to me.

"Hey, um...where'd you get the bracelet?" he asked.

"Oh! Ok, um, you remember last night, when we went down to practice by the creek? Well, after you left, this girl came out of the woods on the other side of the creek. I thought she was either a dryad or a monster, but she told me she was my mom, Artemis." I told him.

"Artemis! In this camp! Huh!" he exclaimed. I continued. "Anyway, she gave me this and told me a secret about my staff and the bracelet. See, my staff turns into a bow and arrow when I whisper her name to it, and, when I want it to, the bracelet turns into a shield." "Wow." he said.

"Hey, Natalie, get over here!" Danielle yelled. "I gotta go." I told Zack. He told me to be careful and walked back up to his seat. I went over to the Ares kids. They decided that I should fight Danielle. Well, actually Danielle decided I should fight her, everyone else was just too scared to say anything.

So, Danielle and I went at it. She lunged, I parried. I thrusted, she blocked. And it went on that way for about 10 minutes. I thought about using my bow and arrow, but with her flailing around like a maniac, it wasn't safe. She swiped with sword horizantally and I knew I wouldn't be able to block it so I did exactly what i did during capture the flag. I ddropped to the ground. She must've had built up alot of momentum behind her swing because she kept going and spun in circles until she lost her balance and fell to the ground. I retaliated quickly and grabbed my staff. "Artemis." And in a flash of light, my bow was in my hand, along witha quiver of arrows on my back. Danielle had gotten back on her feet, so I notched an arrow and pointed it at her chest. She gulped and walked back over to her cabinmates, admitting defeat.

I put my bow and arrows away and hooked my staff in the holder on my side. Zack, the Athena and Apollo kids, and Chiron came over to me.

"Congratulations! No one has beaten Danielle since she came here, which was about 4 and a half years ago." he said. Instead of congratulating me, Zack gave me hug. I was surprised, but it wore off after one of the Athena girls yelled, "Group hug!" Then I was just squished.

***

Zack, Cedar, and I were walking to the dining pavilion after archery lessons when Zack told a cheesy joke that caused us to laugh uncontrollably.

"How long does the chicken work?" he said, "Around the cluck!" It wasn't very funny, but it gave us a good case of the giggles. And that is when our problems began.

We heard a loud roar and a loud scraping noise. We turned around tofind where the noise was coming from and saw a huge, shimmering lion fighting Peleus (the gaurdian dragon) on Half-Blood Hill. Peleus' scales were protecting him from the lion's claws, so I thought he would have the upper hand, but then I noticed that the lion's fur was deflecting Peleus' strikes as well. This, clearly, was no ordinary lion. After all, lions don't run free throughout New York.

And then it hit me. This was the Nemean Lion.

And then I saw what they were fighting over. A young girl was lying, unconscious behing Peleus. He was protecting her.

"Aim! Fire!" It was the Apollo kids. They were doing their best, but the arrows bounced off the lion's fur. But, luckily, he was momentarily distracted. Peleus hoisted the girl up onto his back and looked at us for help. I didn't know what to do, but Zack did. "I, Zack Spencer, give Peleus permission to enter camp!" The girl came with him so she was a half-blood.

Jeremiah (one of Hephaesus' children) carried her back to the Big House, while the Apollo kids got rid of the lion. Zack stayed back to calm down the other campers while Cedar and I went to the Big House to make sur e the girl was going to be okay.

We took turns spoon-feeding her ambrosia and nectar. Zack came in a little while later with Chiron.

"Zack, Cedar, could you give Natalie and I a moment alone?" he asked. "Um, yeah, sure, Chiron." said Cedar. Zack agreed and left with Cedar.

"Natalie, I wanted to tell you that the lion wasn't after our little friend here." He gestured to the girl on the bed, "He was after you. But, more importantly the Nemean Lion's presence has never been felt here and the distortion in the Mist's density has corrupted the Oracle. I will ask Zack to tell you about the Oracle later. The Oracle is disintegrating because of it. And the gods are blaming you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, I'm sorry it took so long to write this but with school and babysitting, there hasn't been much time for me to write! ******** Please review!!! Send ideas for the next couple chapters!! I don't own PJO. Sadly.**

"Me? It wasn't my fault the Nemean Lion was here!" I screamed.

"I know! I know. But trying to reason with the gods was given up long ago and I suggest you should do the same." I didn't want to, but the tone of Chiron's voice seemed to have power over me and I agreed. "Natalie, I had a prophecy from the Oracle a while back. It said that an unmeant child would try to save the Oracle. If they failed, it would mean the end of the Western civilization, but if they were to succeed, peace would be restored."

"So, what you're trying to say is," I stammered, "that I have to save the one little thing that is the foundation of Western civilization?"

"Yes." Okay, no pressure. I must have looked worried because he said, "Why don't you go talk to Zack and Cedar, then bring them back to me. I need to talk to you all together." Then he escorted me outside, where we found Zack and Cedar talking on the porch. They stood up once they saw us coming and Chiron backed into the Big House. Then Zack bombarded me with questions.

"What did Chiron say? Are you trouble? Are _we _in trouble? What's happening to the girl? How is she? Do we know who her parent is?"

"ZACK!" yelled Cedar, "Take a breath and let Natalie talk!" I smiled. Zack blushed.

"Thanks, Cedar. Anyway, no, we're not in trouble. Well, you guys aren't anyway." Then they interrupted me. "_You're _in trouble?! Why? How?"

"GUYS!" I yelled at them. It got their attention fast. "The girl is still in the infirmary, but she talks in her sleep. Her name is Claire and she keeps muttering something about 'heals all things'." Then, Chiron appeared around the doorway.

"Children, I'd like you all to come in here now." So, we went. Chiron stood while we all sat at the pinochle table. Then he spoke.

"I'm sure Natalie told you both that the gods are a tad bit upset with her right now, so I'm going to tell you why while Natalie pays a visit to the Oracle." Zack and Cedar just looked at him, mouths gaping. Chiron asked Zack to lead me up to the Oracle and he did. He explained to me what the Oracle is on the way. When he got to the part about people going insane up there, my mouth fell open too.

He ushered me into the attic, and I tried not to look at the table that Zack told me about. Instead I turned my head and saw it…her. She was a mummy wearing a hippie dress like my old English teacher used to wear and a funny hat that I couldn't help but giggle at.

_I am the spirit of Delphi, _said a voice I knew was coming from the mummy, _speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty python. Approach, Seeker, and ask._

"Umm… What must I do to save…you?" I'm not sure, but I think she smiled a little bit when I said that.

_One shall suffer through strife,_

_One shall end their life, _

_Through death they will stand,_

_On the long lost land,_

_And when she is victorious,_

_Rewarded with nothing but the most glorious._

I heard the prophecy, but that wasn't what scared me. I saw visions of my father, of animals, Artemis, and of some people I don't even know. I turned and ran toward the exit, trying not to cry.

I guess I was running when I reached Chiron and Zack and Cedar because Zack caught me and Cedar forced me into a chair. "Natalie! NATALIE! Calm down! What happened?" Chiron yelled.

"It was just so real!" I said. "I just- I- It was scary!"

"What did the Oracle say?" said Chiron forcefully. "It- It said, _One shall suffer through…strife," _At this point, I almost forgot the whole prophecy, "_One shall end their life, through…death--they will stand on the long lost land, and--and when she is victorious, rewarded with nothing but the most…most glorious." _I said.

"Ok. Let's analyze this." Said Cedar, "_One shall suffer through strife_. It seems like one of the quest members is going to endure lasting pain."

"And then, _one shall end their life_? Sounds like someone's gonna put 'em out of their misery." Zack explained.

"_Through death they will stand._ I guess the rest will be tough enough to get over it." I said. I glanced around at the rest of them and, in unison, we said the last lines. "_And when she is victorious, rewarded with nothing but the most glorious." _Chiron spoke, "A girl is going to succeed in this quest and she is going to be greatly rewarded." No one spoke after that, but that was when we heard groaning from the infirmary. Our heads perked up and waited, just to be sure of what we had heard.

"Mmmmhhnn." Came from upstairs. Everyone scrambled to get up the stairs to Claire. She was sitting up on her bed. She looked at us as we broke through the door.

"Do you know who you are?" I asked her. She replied, "Of course. I'm Claire Mandolin, child of Apollo."

**Okay, sorry the prophecy was suckish, but please review!!**


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